Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Fewer Traffic Collisions During Shutdown Means Longer Waits For Organ Donations
Accident deaths are typically the biggest source of donor organs nationwide. But when the coronavirus forced Californians indoors, accidents declined. (April Dembosky, KQED, )
Bay Area Counties Had Been In Lock-Step When It Came To Shut Down. Now They’re Taking Divergent Paths: Even as Bay Area cases crossed the 10,000 mark last week, variations in how the pandemic has affected the nine counties were thrown into stark relief, especially with regard to a new California directive allowing regions to reopen their economies at their own pace. Suddenly the three North Bay counties that have been less dramatically affected by the virus than their southern siblings are straining to push ahead toward reopening. And the remaining six counties — the ones that collectively issued the first shelter-in-place orders in the United States on March 16 — are lagging behind. Only Santa Clara County — hit earliest and hardest of the Bay Area counties — has not publicly discussed plans to budge from strict shelter-in-place restrictions that allow for only essential businesses and some outdoor-only operations. Read more from Erin Allday of the San Francisco Chronicle.
In related news from ProPublica: Two Coasts. One Virus. How New York Suffered Nearly 10 Times the Number of Deaths as California.
A Church Held A Service On Mother’s Day In Defiance Of Stay-At-Home Order. Now 180 People Have Been Exposed To Virus: More than 180 people who attended a religious service on Mother’s Day in Butte County — violating the state’s shelter-in-place orders — were told to self-quarantine after one attendee tested positive for the coronavirus, county health officials said. The person received a positive diagnosis last week, shortly after attending the service, and is self-isolating at home, according to the Butte County Public Health Department, which is investigating the incident. “Organizations that hold in-person services or gatherings are putting the health and safety of their congregations, the general public and our local ability to open up at great risk,” Butte County Public Health Director Danette York said in a statement. Read more from Tatiana Sanchez of the San Francisco Chronicle and Laura Newberry of the Los Angeles Times.
Prisoners Freed From Overcrowded Jails Because Of Pandemic Face Unprecedented Uncertainty: State data show California’s prisons have released about 3,500 inmates while the daily jail population across 58 counties is down by 20,000 from late February. The exodus is having a profound and still-evolving effect: Those leaving custody enter a vastly different world in which a collapsed economy, scant job opportunities and the closure of many government offices have compounded the challenges of getting lives back on track. Reentry programs are struggling to meet the deluge of incoming inmates as the disease has forced them to close shelters and serve fewer people. Read more from Matt Hamilton, James Queally and Alene Tchekmedyian of the Los Angeles Times.
Below, check out the full round-up of California Healthline original stories, state coverage and the best of the rest of the national news for the day.
More News From Across The State
San Francisco Chronicle:
California, Western State Allies Forging Their Own Paths In Coronavirus Crisis
When Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out ground rules that would allow counties with few coronavirus cases to move faster than the state to reopen their economies, he credited Colorado and Oregon with the idea... The plan was the product of conversations between five Western states’ governors who formed one of several interstate pacts that are coordinating regional responses to the coronavirus pandemic. But since it was rolled out with fanfare a month ago, the collaboration between California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Colorado has been loose, advisory and largely symbolic. (Koseff, 5/16)
Sacramento Bee:
Gavin Newsom Donor Blue Shield Dominates COVID-19 Task Force
As Gov. Gavin Newsom navigates one of his most vexing problems during the pandemic, supplying the state with enough tests for COVID-19, he has relied heavily on a single company: insurance giant Blue Shield of California, a generous campaign contributor and supporter. Nearly half of the leadership positions on Newsom’s high-priority task force on coronavirus testing are filled with Blue Shield executives. Its CEO, Paul Markovich, is the co-lead, alongside the assistant director of the state Department of Public Health. (Bollag and Pohl, 5/18)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Coronavirus Vaccine Could Come From California, With No Shot Needed
Bay Area researchers’ proximity to leading health care centers and Silicon Valley has given them a leading role in developing drugs to treat COVID-19. It could also give local companies and institutions a leg up in the global race to create a vaccine. Several have set out to create a highly effective product that can be distributed widely. The stakes could not be higher. (Morris, 5/17)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. County Records 694 New Coronavirus Cases And 29 Deaths
Los Angeles County public health officials on Sunday reported 694 new coronavirus cases and 29 more related deaths. “To the many people experiencing the profound sadness of losing someone they love to COVID-19, we are deeply sorry,” Barbara Ferrer, the public health director, said in a statement. Long Beach, which has its own public health department, reported an additional 27 cases of the virus, bringing the county’s total to 38,001 cases and 1,821 deaths. (Wigglesworth, 5/17)
Los Angeles Times:
Coronavirus Vaccine Within A Year Not Certain, Expert Warns
A coronavirus vaccine by year’s end is possible, but not something to “bank on,” a leading public health expert warned Sunday as the Trump administration continued to push for swift business reopenings in a bid to revive the battered U.S. economy. Aides to President Trump have touted vaccine prospects, but they’ve also tried to de-couple significant progress toward an immunization protocol from the need to return to workplaces, schools and public life, as many states are now moving to do. (King, 5/17)
The New York Times:
Coronavirus Vaccine Trial By Moderna Shows Promising Early Results
The first coronavirus vaccine to be tested in people appears to be safe and able to stimulate an immune response against the virus, its manufacturer, Moderna announced on Monday. The findings are based on results from the first eight people who each received two doses of the vaccine, starting in March. Those people, healthy volunteers, made antibodies that were then tested in human cells in the lab, and were able to stop the virus from replicating — the key requirement for an effective vaccine. The levels of those so-called neutralizing antibodies matched the levels found in patients who had recovered after contracting the virus in the community. (Grady, 5/18)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Marin Health Director’s Own Illness Changes His View Of Dealing With COVID-19
The terrifying reality hit Dr. Matt Willis hard on day 10 of his coronavirus infection, when the nightmarish ordeal of fever and sickness landed him in the hospital. The top public health officer in Marin County could hardly breathe, oxygen levels in his body had hit rock bottom and, he admitted, he was scared because “this is the sickest I’ve ever been.” (Fimrite, 5/17)
San Francisco Chronicle:
1 In 3 Primary Care Doctors Fears Having To Close Practice Over Coronavirus
More than a third of primary care doctors in California surveyed this month by an Oakland foundation worried they will be forced to close their practice or clinic because of financial impacts from the coronavirus pandemic. The survey of 350 physicians across the state, released Friday, found that 37%, about 130, said they were “very” or “somewhat” worried that they will have to permanently close their doors. Doctors at practices with fewer than five physicians were especially concerned. More than half of those doctors, 63, said they fear they will have to shut their clinic for good. (Moench, 5/16)
Sacramento Bee:
Can Nursing Homes Take Patients’ COVID-19 Stimulus Checks?
If you or a loved one live in a nursing home and are on Medicaid, the Federal Trade Commission wants you to know that the facility is not entitled to take your coronavirus stimulus payment. Lois Greisman, elder justice coordinator for the FTC, said the Iowa Attorney General’s Office and others have reported that some nursing homes are taking stimulus checks from patients on Medicaid, according to a news release. Doing so contradicts the CARES Act which categorizes stimulus payments as tax credits, the release said. (White, 5/17)
Sacramento Bee:
To Soften Blow Of State Worker Pay Cuts, California Might Suspend $2,600 Health Deductions
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration could offer some relief from potential pay cuts for state workers by temporarily eliminating one of the paycheck deductions workers see each month, according to an Association of California State Supervisors web post. Newsom this week proposed reducing state workers’ pay by 10 percent on Thursday in a budget that aims to reckon with a projected $54 billion deficit. California Human Resources Department Director Eraina Ortega told the association the state could ease the pain a little by pausing workers’ monthly contributions toward the health benefits they receive in retirement, according to the post. (Venteicher, 5/16)
CalMatters:
Homelessness Funds Mostly Spared In California Budget Cuts
With a forecasted deficit of near-record proportions and an economy in freefall, homelessness and low-income housing advocates were braced for painful cuts in the revised budget proposal Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled earlier this week. But unlike some of the more severe pandemic-induced rollbacks Newsom outlined in areas like education and climate change, affordable housing and homelessnesss dollars were mostly spared from the administration’s fiscal cleaver. (Levin, 5/16)
Los Angeles Times:
Judge Issues Order For Los Angeles To Move Homeless Living Near Freeways, Citing Health Concerns
Thousands of homeless people living near freeways in Los Angeles County are in line to receive alternative shelter during the COVID-19 pandemic after a federal court judge ordered local authorities to find them housing. The preliminary injunction, issued Friday by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, requires city, county and homelessness officials to provide space in shelters or alternative housing for the estimated 6,000 to 7,000 county residents living near freeway overpasses, underpasses and ramps. Carter’s ruling compels local governments to develop a plan for doing so by Friday. (Dillon, 5/16)
CalMatters:
Coronavirus To Trigger $2 Billion In California Higher Ed Cuts
While student financial aid remains largely intact, California's public colleges and universities can expect 10% less than planned for the coming fiscal year. Brace for online classes and a debate about raising tuition. (Zinshteyn, 5/15)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Imagining The Bay Area Bar And Restaurant Scene Of The Near Future
Remember restaurants? Not the empty storefronts where you grab a takeout bag from a masked employee standing behind a makeshift counter in the doorway, but those places where you’d gather with friends, enjoy hours-long meals and allow chefs and waitstaff to take care of you? That type of experience now feels like a distant dream. On March 17, Bay Area counties ordered residents to shelter in place and avoid public gatherings. In an instant, every restaurant dining room was made off-limits to customers, and businesses rushed to implement social distancing guides. California as a whole followed suit two days later. (Ho, Bitker and Mobley, 5/18)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Changes Bay Area Restaurants May Make When Shelter-In-Place Orders Are Lifted
Remember restaurants? Not the empty storefronts where you grab a takeout bag from a masked employee standing behind a makeshift counter in the doorway, but those places where you’d gather with friends, enjoy hours-long meals and allow chefs and waitstaff to take care of you? (5/15)
Sacramento Bee:
Inside A California Restaurant Reopening From Coronavirus
Servers took orders in sleek black masks stamped with the restaurant’s logo. Every other booth sat empty with its tabletops removed and a vertical plastic wrap barrier separating customers from the next row over. Functioning bar stools were marked with caution tape, as were all but one restroom stall, which employees sanitized after every use. A roomy diner founded in 1981 and mostly patronized by customers who predate that — dine-in customers 60 and older get a free tapioca pudding with their order — Brookfields Restaurant wasn’t prone to big changes prior to the coronavirus pandemic. (Egel, 5/16)
Fresno Bee:
Data Shows COVID-19 Impact To Fresno Mobility Habits
Fresno County and much of California have been under shelter-in-place orders for two months with the goal of preventing the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. The closures of many retailers, restaurants and businesses deemed non-essential, shuttering of offices and workplaces, and other limitations have not only meant a significant increase in how much time people in Fresno County are spending at home, but also dramatic drops in people venturing out for normal activities. While individual habits may vary, just how much our collective routines as a community have changed can be estimated, thanks to devices that nearly everyone has in their pocket and purse: smartphones. (Sheehan, 5/17)
San Francisco Chronicle:
On The Bright Side: Selling Masks On The Sidewalks Of San Francisco
When a folding table pops up on a sidewalk, it used to be a kid selling lemonade. These days it’s a grown-up selling face masks. Eileen Purcell of Reno set up her folding table the other day on the corner of Foerster Street and Flood Avenue. She was in town to visit her mom for Mother’s Day and figured she might as well make a few bucks. (Rubenstein, 5/17)
Los Angeles Times:
Coronavirus: Want To See Friends? Here Are The Risk Factors
Your willpower is fraying. Mine is too. For two months we’ve been good. We’ve Zoomed. We’ve FaceTimed. We’ve waved at neighbors from across the street and behind the fence. But enough is enough. We want to see friends and family in real life. (Netburn, 5/16)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Mask The Rage: How To Talk To People Who Don’t Wear Face Coverings
Masks have been in the news more in the past two months than maybe ever. In spite of the Centers for Disease Control’s recommendation to wear a cloth face mask in public settings to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, tensions over the subject have reached a breaking point in some places. (Bravo, 5/16)